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Infectious Complications in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

  • INFECTIONS AND ARTHRITIS (K WINTHROP, SECTION EDITOR)
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Abstract

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common rheumatic disease of childhood. Many questions regarding the risk of infection associated with JIA and with the immunosuppressant therapeutic agents commonly used to treat JIA are currently unanswered. It appears likely that JIA itself increases the background rate of serious bacterial infections, irrespective of immunosuppressant use. The available evidence suggests that treatment with methotrexate or tumor necrosis factor inhibitors only modestly increases the risk of serious infections and may not increase the risk at all. Opportunistic infections are very uncommon among children with JIA, but they likely occur at an increased rate compared to children without JIA. Intra-articular glucocorticoid injections almost never result in infectious complications in the treatment of JIA when performed carefully. Additional controlled studies of the risks of infection among children with JIA are needed, particularly comparative studies of newer therapeutic agents.

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Conflict of Interest

Andrew Hurd declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Timothy Beukelman has served as a consultant for Novartis and Genentech and has received grant support from Pfizer.

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  1. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Children’s Park Place 210, 1600 7th Ave South, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA

    Andrew Hurd & Timothy Beukelman

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Correspondence to Timothy Beukelman.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Infections and Arthritis

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Hurd, A., Beukelman, T. Infectious Complications in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. Curr Rheumatol Rep 15, 327 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-013-0327-1

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